Microcinema DVDs - Alix Lambert's The Mark of Cain

Sailing ships, stars, angels and executioners – The Mark of Cain chronicles the vanishing practice and language of Russian Criminal Tattoos. Captured in some of Russia’s most notorious prisons, including the fabled White Swan, the film traces the animus of the flowers of this carnal art by way of the brutality of it’s origins- the penitentiary and the criminal environment. Incisive interviews with prisoners, guards, and criminologists reveal the secret language of The Zone and The Code of Thieves of the vory v zakone. As early as the 1920’s, Russian prisons and Gulag began to attract the attention of researchers. The prisoners of the Stalinist Gulag, or "Zone," as it is called, developed a complex social structure that incorporated highly symbolic tattooing as a mark of rank. The very existence of these inmates at prisons and forced labor camps was treated by the state as a deep secret, and their tattoo art was considered a forbidden topic.

In the last decade, Russia's prison population has exploded; overcrowding has reached unimaginable proportions. Few other nations have had such a massive prison population. The most conservative estimates suggest that in the last decades, over thirty million of Russia's inmates have had tattoos even though the process is against the law inside prison.

According to The Book of Genesis, God placed a mark on the world's first murderer before sending him into exile. The mark of Cain proclaimed its bearer as a criminal and social outcast; for centuries, prisoners and those who broke social codes were forcibly tattooed. In Russian prisons, tattooing emerged as a visual mode of communication linked with social division. The Mark of Cain tells the story of a fading art form and how that practice's death reflects transition in broader Russian society.

Further Information:

In Russian with English Subtitles

2009-05-21 Visible Language
By Michael Golec

The Mark of Cain, a feature-length documentary by Alix Lambert, explores the dying art of Russian prison tattoos to offer audiences an understanding of conflict and transition in contemporary Russia. Through intimate interviews that enable the prisoners to talk about their life experiences, body art and living conditions, a powerful story emerges of tension between prisoners of different generations and different social-economic systems. The Mark of Cain documents for the first time the disappearing artistic practice of Russian prison tattoos; further, the project investigates the nature of change in Russia by examining what is happening in the country's prisons.

As early as the 1920s, Russian prisons and Gulag began to attract the attention of researchers. The prisoners of the Stalinist Gulag, or "Zone," as it is called, developed a complex social structure that incorporated highly symbolic tattooing as a mark of rank. The very existence of these inmates at prisons and forced labor camps was treated by the state as a deep secret, and their tattoo art was considered a forbidden topic.

Since the introduction of Glasnost and the new freedoms of the press, striking figures have been published: from the mid-1960s to the 1980s, thirty-five million people were incarcerated. In the last decade, Russia's prison population has exploded; overcrowding has reached unimaginable proportions. Few other nations have had such a massive prison population. The most conservative estimates suggest that in the last decades, over thirty million of Russia's inmates have had tattoos even though the process is against the law inside prison.

According to The Book of Genesis, God placed a mark on the world's first murderer before sending him into exile. The mark of Cain proclaimed its bearer as a criminal and social outcast; for centuries, prisoners and those who broke social codes were forcibly tattooed. In Russian prisons, tattooing emerged as a visual mode of communication linked with social division. The startling and beautiful images of churches, cats, Christs, Madonnas, dolphins, bears and hawks, to name a few, became part of a secret, political language that allowed for clandestine communication both in and out of prison.

The Mark of Cain tells the story of a fading art form and how that practice's death reflects transition in broader Russian society. In Russian prisons there has been a "Code-ofThieves." This criminal code is directly related to how prisoners earn their status in the prison community, and in turn earn the right to carry particular tattooed images that communicate who they are and their position within the social hierarchy. The godfather of the Code-of-Thieves is the "Thief-inLaw." In Russian prisons today there is major conflict concerning how prisoners achieve their status. Older prisoners are committed to the practice of tattooing and a Code-of-Thieves in which status has to do with one's behavior as a criminal on the outside, in the legal system and in the community of prisoners. Younger prisoners seek to purchase high status in the prison community. The younger generation is less interested in tattooing.

The prisoners raise crucial questions about expression, resistance, redemption and social division. The Mark of Cain intervenes into discussions that concern: Russian society, prison reform, resistance and artistic expression and transition in world systems.

2008-05-28 Media Reviews Online
By Ronald Saskowski Jr.

The Mark of Cain presents a rare intriguing look into the world of the Russian prison system and uncovers the history behind criminal tattoos. Each tattoo tells a different story providing a glimpse into the person who wears it. Tattoos have a variety of meanings ranging from power to station in the prison caste.

Mr. Lambert mixes interviews with prisoners as well as non-prisoners resulting in a nicely rounded piece. The inclusion of historical film clips allows the viewer further glimpses into a once restricted world. While the majority of the film takes place in a male prison, a female prison is visited toward the end.

The original music is hauntingly appropriate and helps to set the tone of the piece. Russian is spoken throughout the majority of the movie. The film is to be commended on its use of subtitles which are easy to read and quite distinguishable from the background.

There is a brief shower scene with frontal nudity which is in no way gratuitous but is worth noting. The tattoos and the environment in which the prisoners live can be a bit overwhelming at times.

This film is recommended with reservations for the intended audience. For the faint of heart, the tattoos and the environment can be a little hard to watch. With that being said, the ability to look inside a world that until now has been of limits is worth it.

College and university libraries with programs in criminal justice and psychology would benefit from having this in their collection.

2008-01-30
By David Cronenberg

This is a very courageous documentary on the tattooing subculture in Russian prisons. I don’t know how it ever got made, but it’s beautiful, scary, and heartbreaking.

2008-01-30 Artforum International
By Tim Griffin

… a remarkable portrait of the Russian penitentiary system as seen through the
prism of it’s convicts’ tattoos.

2008-01-30 Feminist Review

This documentary is highly recommended. Despite the dark subject, it captivates you. Alix Lambert is to be commended.